The second day of the girls high school state basketball tournament will be a busy one for Southwest Louisiana as four teams will play today in the semifinals.

Two of those teams have experience in Hammond in Class B No. 1 Fairview and Non-select Division III No. 6 Westlake. But Iowa and Bell City are going into their respective games with little or no experience of playing in high-stakes games.

“When you have a lot of young kids that have never been there or played in that atmosphere, that is tough,” Bell City head coach Tracy Fontenot said. “We talked to them about just going out there and doing what we do and not worrying about anything else.

“I know they are excited to be there. I don’t want them to just be happy to be there. We still have some work to do. We keep reiterating that to keep them focused.”

Bell City (24-3) last played in the semifinals in 2021. Two of their starters — Patyon Herpin and Braylee Brabham — were on the bench in that game but didn’t see any action.

Their opponent will be No. 3 Oak Hill (30-10) at 4:30 p.m. The Rams have played in the final three consecutive seasons and won the Select Division V state title in 2023.

“Our opponent has been there for the last three or four years,” Fontenot said. “They are a senior team.
“They are physical and big. It is going to be a tough test for us, but I think the kids are looking forward to it. They are just physically bigger than us. They are older, and they have that maturity. They are going to have a lot of confidence coming in.”

Non-select Division II No. 4 Iowa (22-7) will take on No. 1 Wossman (26-3) at 8 p.m. in their first trip to the state tournament.

Like Oak Hill, Wossman is a powerhouse as the two-time defending Non-select Division II state champion, including a 63-22 win over South Beauregard in the final last season.

While the Yellow Jackets have no seniors and no state tournament experience, head coach Courtneé Hollins has plenty of experience to share with her team. She led Hathaway to the final three times before taking the job at Iowa. As a player at Fairview, she played in the state tournament six times.

Class B No.1 Fairview (35-5) faces District 4-C rival No. 5 Anacoco (23-11) in the semifinals for a second consecutive season. Fairview won last year’s matchup 81-70, but the Indians beat them 80- 70 in the regular season on Jan. 17. The game will start at 6:15 p.m.

After a stunning buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Maddy Guillory to beat No. 3 French Settlement 39-37 in the quarterfinals, Non-select Division III No. 6 Westlake (18-6) will play No. 2 Oak Grove (20-2) at 2:45 p.m. They lost to Rosepine in the semifinals last year.

The Rams run an all-guard lineup that can score quickly and create turmoil on defense but will face a huge challenge in 6-foot-5 center Caroline Bradley. The sophomore is rated a five-star recruit by 247spors.com.